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Bomb blasts cause TV news rating to soar: Survey

The recent bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta have triggered television viewers’ enthusiasm for news programs, a survey by the AGB Nielsen Media Research has found

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Mon, July 27, 2009

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Bomb blasts  cause TV news rating  to soar: Survey

T

he recent bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta have triggered television viewers’ enthusiasm for news programs, a survey by the AGB Nielsen Media Research has found.

The survey conducted in 10 major cities, including Denpasar and Jakarta, showed that around 314,000 viewers on average tuned into news programs between July 17 [the day of the bombings] and July 22.

The number represented a 26 percent increase. The survey also recorded that around 416,000 viewers tuned into news programs on the day of the bombings. That number almost doubled the total number of news programs viewers watched the previous day.

Just last month, research conducted on the nation’s television viewing habits by the Science, Aesthetics and Technology Foundation revealed that despite the fact that most people placed a high value on news and talk show programs, the majority of people still preferred to watch soap operas and reality shows - not the case on Friday.

“However, the number of people who spent more time watching news programs declined. That probably occurred because viewers switched from one channel to another in order to follow the latest update on the incident,” said Hellen Katherina, the associate director of marketing and client services at Nielsen.

The survey also revealed that most viewers were adults over the age of 30 years old. Around 899,000 of those viewers watched TVOne’s Teror Kembali Mengguncang (Terror Strikes Again) program between July 17 and 22, making it the most watched program during that period.

Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia followed in second place, with around 714,000 viewers on average tuning into the station in the days following the bombings.

However, despite the fact the bombings took place in Jakarta, the survey revealed that the most significant increase of viewers was in Denpasar, Bali.

Denpasar recorded a 200 percent increase, while Jakarta followed in second place with around 112
percent.

“The increase in Jakarta was probably because of the location factor, while the significant increase in Bali could have been triggered by the fact the city has also been bombed in the past,” Hellen said.

The survey also revealed that the most significant increase of viewers was recorded by news-based programs on television channels, such as Metro TV and TVOne.

The number of Metro TV and TVOne viewers increased by 196 percent and 220 percent respectively on the day of the bombings, while entertainment-based channels recorded a 43 percent increase.

Both Metro TV and TVOne aired many exclusive videos of their own. Some of the videos captured the hotels seconds before the bombs, while others showed live footage of wounded victims.

The television battle for ratings, encouraging the broadcast of graphic images from the bomb scene, triggered the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission to issue warnings to several TV stations.

Criticism also came from Press Council member, Abdullah Alamudi, who said that such pictures and videos were a violation of the journalist code of ethics.

The code of ethics stipulates that journalists must not report news in a graphic or sadistic manner. (hdt)

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